Halo: Reach multiplayer beta begins May 3rd

[Chris3123]

Oh, and the Halo: Reach Xbox LIVE Multiplayer Beta hits on May 3rd, 2010. You can get your own invitation by picking up a copy of Halo 3: ODST. See you on the battlefield.

Bungie.net

Who here is going to try it out in May?

[firehawk12]

Might as well since I have the disc.

They released a ViDoc as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0_jiB2hqeQ

Looks nice, but after MW2, I don't think I can go back to the Halo style of gameplay.

I just hope if they do co-op this time, they include matchmaking.

[PKerr]

I never really got into MP but I have been playing a lot of MW2 (even though the cheaters are aggravating the $#!t out of me) so I may give it a shot.

That is was what came with ODST right?

[firehawk12]

Yeah, I assume you'll have to use the ODST disc to download and start the beta.

[Chris3123]

firehawk12 wrote:

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Yeah, I assume you'll have to use the ODST disc to download and start the beta.

Correct. The beta itself is not on the disc, but you need the disc to get the beta.

[-Brett-]

Might as well, since I have ODST.

Not sure if I'll buy it, though. The Halo series is a little past it's expiration date.

[Dream]

Bumping this. The beta has started.

Some of the weapons have lots of recoil. Not liking that new feature very much, but it is beta so it can be toned down in the final version.

The damage that grenades do seems to have been jacked up.

[clint g]

I guess the recoil thing makes sense story wise since you're playing highly trained slightly modiefied humans instead of the super-cyborgs that you were playing in Halo 1-3

[Chris3123]

I finally received my code today, and played a game. It was FFA Oddball on the Swordbase map. I really liked it. I really dig the armor abilities. My favorite is the Stalker's active camo.

[Yoda]

My ODST is still shrink wrapped. Honestly I never got much out of Halo multiplayer, except for some Co-op. MW2 and BFBC2 are definitely more the style of online shooter I like compared to the run around and pick up powerups Doom/Quake/Unreal clones.

[firehawk12]

Yeah. I appreciate the vertical maps, which is something that only exists in scifi shooters (because you can have jump pads and rocket jumps and whatnot) but having to chase down weapons is just too old school for me.

4 on 4 is also kind of too small scale for my tastes, because your mistakes are just multiplied. You can become a liability for your team in extreme cases.

[-Brett-]

Played a few games. It was fun, but nothing new. Basically just Halo 3 with updated graphics and animations.

And jetpacks.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, if you're into that sort of thing. I'm sure I'll have fun with the beta, but I'm still not sold on a prettier version of a game I already own.

[Chris3123]

-Brett- wrote:

---

Played a few games. It was fun, but nothing new. Basically just Halo 3 with updated graphics and animations.

And jetpacks.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, if you're into that sort of thing. I'm sure I'll have fun with the beta, but I'm still not sold on a prettier version of a game I already own.

While it's very similar to Halo 3, there are a number of differences other than just looks. There are new weapons (e.g. grenade launcher, plasma launcher) and game modes (e.g. Invasion, Generator Defense, Headhunter, Stockpile).

Also, gameplay mechanics:
No equipment to pick up. Instead, there's the new armor abilities, which you can change at any respawn.
You have health in addition to shields, and health packs are strewn across the maps.
Only two grenade types.
Refined radar system.

See this video to get an explanation of the various new features.